


In a Fraction of a Moment

by Lafeae



Series: Random AU Ideas [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Action, Assassination Attempt(s), Blood, Drama, Injury, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, no one dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-17 23:34:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18108788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lafeae/pseuds/Lafeae
Summary: Atem is a lowly IT worker who’s never had the chance to meet his biggest crush—his boss, Seto Kaiba.But he’s willing to anything for him, including saving his life.—Prideshipping, AU.





	In a Fraction of a Moment

**Author's Note:**

> M for language and gun violence. 
> 
> This was supposed to a Drabble. Guess it ends up in an AU I have very few other ideas for instead. Enjoy this randomness.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

How did these stupid radios work?

Atem slid his thumbnail against the crevice of the radio, clicking stations and listening to the faraway chatter while he wrapped the rubber arm around his ear. Security had to be the first station, right? In his panic, he wasn't sure.

His heart was rabbit fast as he paced in his square workstation. Every other tick of his heart, he glanced up at monitors and a still quickly captured on security feed. A keen eye might not have seen it; a small dot, vaguely human shaped, was on top of a building in Domino Plaza that he knew didn't have roof access. Shouldn't have, anyways.

Maybe he was paranoid.

No. He couldn't take risks. Not on a day when Seto Kaiba was due to have a very open, very public press conference in front of KaibaCorp. HQ. He practically had a target painted on him. 

Finally, he heard security running through protocols on the radio. Channel found.

"IT to security," Atem called.

Nothing.

Atem made a few more errant laps around the tiny office. Security continued running protocols and chatting to themselves.

"IT to security."

Again, nothing. Fuck.

Did the uptight assholes think he was pranking them? Or was he not important in comparison to the press conference about to happen? The urgency in his voice should have been enough for them to reply, dammit!

Turning his wrist, Atem glanced at his watch and cursed under his breath. Ten minutes until the press conference went live.

"IT to security, please respond!"

The demand wasn't going to be heeded, Atem knew. He snatched his phone from the desk and sprinted out of the cubicle, shoving past coworkers coming back from a coffee break.

At the end of the long corridor were two elevators. IT security was in basement three, the lowest part of the KaibaCorp. building. Guards and technicians of the server room, unsung heroes according to his coworkers.

The elevator doors were closing, and Atem skidded to a stop and lunged towards them just a fraction too late.

Shit.

The call button always felt useless. He jammed it several times, but the elevator still headed up.

There wasn't enough time to keep waiting for it. He sprinted around the corner and up the stairwell. His hand was on the radio again, switching to the 'all-call' station. A station he wondered if Seto Kaiba himself was also on...maybe he would hear this, too.

"IT to security! I have unconfirmed sighting of a rogue."

Up one flight of steps, and Atem's legs already ached. That's what he got for sitting on his ass all day, buried in a cellar next to the server room and hoping for the great Seto Kaiba to grace them with his presence. He'd never visited them unless something went terribly, catastrophically wrong. Atem promised that would never happen—even if it meant watching Kaiba from a distance.

Which was a shame, because Kaiba was three-fourths of the reason he decided to work at KaibaCorp. to begin with. Maybe one day he'd have the pleasure of talking to Kaiba personally, not just having make believe conversations to press photos or security footage which was totally not hacked into. Not at all.

He hoped, to Kaiba, he had managed a merit of skill.

Fuck. Onto the second flight of steps, and he tripped, immediately regretting the choice platform boots.

" _What is your all-call for IT?_ "

"I need security. Preferably Mr. Ackerman if possible."

" _Mr. Ackerman is busy_ ," the voice said.

"Then Kaiba himself."

Laughter over the radio. Atem could imagine the man sneering. " _What kind of prank is this IT?"_

"I have an unconfirmed—ngh," Atem stumbled up the last platform and turned to climb up the last flight of stairs on all fours, "I have unconfirmed sighting of a rogue."

" _Unconfirmed?_ "

Atem paused at the top of the stairs to catch his breath. Gods, he needed to get in shape, because it felt like his lungs were bleeding.

"Y-yes. There's a...a dot on the bank roof," Atem said.

" _A...dot?_ "

"Yes."

The voice on the other end paused.

Atem strolled up into the main lobby of KaibaCorp.,filled to the brim with upper level executives and other employees. They formed a makeshift pathway for from the executive elevator to the front door for their boss.

" _As in, a bird, IT?_ " The voice asked.

"No. No, no, no, it's—"

" _We have secured the area, IT. Security knows what it's doing. We are, however, concerned with your unauthorised access into the surveillance system."_

Atem's breath hitched, and he closed his nose as began eating the fabric of expensive suits and collars while bumping his way through. A woman yelped, probably from being stomped by his boot.

"That isn't important right now," Atem said, quietly apologised while shoving forward. "We don't have any time!"

" _We have eyes in the sky, IT. The area is secure. But please, hold your location."_

That didn't sound like an order that said security believed him. Bastards. He needed to talk to Roland Ackerman; the threat, however unconfirmed, would be believed then.

Another burst of energy pushed Atem up to the front row, eyes darting back and forth across to the floor to ceiling to find Kaiba at the far end of procession, his tailcoats snapping far in the distance.

With a burst of energy, Atem nudged through the front row and stumbled along the path. He sprinted to Kaiba, catching up with his long, elegant strides.

No. He couldn't think that about Kaiba right now—his life was more important.

In a blink, Atem smacked into Kaiba's side. The taut, corded muscle surprised him in comparison to Kaiba's lean form. No, no. He had to focus, and he gripped Kaiba's cuff while sputtering out nonsensical syllables as he attempted to catch his breath.

"Back off," Kaiba said. Burning blue eyes regarded him with malice.

Atem shook his head. "Please, listen to me!"

Kaiba shoved Atem away, but he regripped Kaiba's arm.

"I don't have to listen to anybody."

Atem glanced out at the bright, clear sky, and focused across to the tall bank building swearing, with superhuman vision he didn't have, that someone was there. Doing what, he didn't know. But he knew. "You do now! Please, Kaiba, you must wait. Security won't listen. They—!"

A swift, rough yank freed Kaiba from Atem's grip. "You're IT, aren't you?"

"I am," Atem replied, steeling his nerve. So Kaiba had listened—or was told.

A strange, indecipherable grin appeared on Kaiba's face. Atem's heart beat rabbit-fast, with his ears going warm and his stomach churning. Fear, he told himself. Of the situation. Of Kaiba. But also something else.

"Wonderful," Kaiba crooned. "You'll save security time. Roland."

The greying suit, with his hand stationed on the weapon at his hip, perked up at his name. "Sir?

"Take...IT here and keep him from making a scene."

Roland nodded. "Of course, sir."

Pressure built behind Atem's eyes. He was, without a doubt, losing this job. But also the small, shattered illusion that Kaiba was a logical, reasonable man. As if he didn't know better.

But the small voice in his head protested. It threw his legs forward as he looked up at the bank again, convinced there was a thin, red dot angling itself into the building. Through the layers of glass, refracting around the lobby.

A sudden, deafening crack shattered the glass of the front doors, sending it down onto the pair like a torrential rainstorm. It clattered and clinked onto the fine marble tile, all the while Atem forced himself from Roland's grip and bolted forward, balling his hands into the back of Kaiba's coat and pivoting on the toe of his boot.

They fell together, a mess of knees and elbows as shattered glass dropped over them in tiny fragments, the rest of the windows falling in a cascade. One shot, or multiple? Atem couldn't concentrate, his head buzzing and his body shivering as he laid atop his employer.

"Kaiba?" Atem choked, almost sobbed, out.

Kaiba's eyes were squeezed closed, face puckered in discomfort. He laid on his side, his arms pulled close to his head. As if he'd fallen asleep on the floor. He shouldn't have looked so serene, and Atem shouldn't have drank in his young, pallid features with awe far greater than when looking at press photos. But Kaiba was so enigmatic up close. And, in the brief moments of panic and terror, time had ceased to exist. He was able to focus his blurry vision on something, anything, to get through this.

"Kaiba...?"

Atem came back to the real world; people surrounded them, screaming and crying while security swarmed from the building. He didn't know if it was over, if it was safe to rise. He thought he still heard glass falling but wasn't sure.

Taking a deep, haggard breath, Atem moved forward enough to brush Kaiba's bangs from his face.

"IT...?" Kaiba groaned, and his eyes opened wide.

They shared another second, another moment where Atem felt like time stopped. Blood rushed to his ears.

"Yeah. Yeah, I...are you okay?" Atem asked.

"I'd be better if you weren't...mmph...on top me..." Kaiba shifted around beneath Atem enough to make him aware that he'd landed on Kaiba's hip, straddling it.

Slowly, he slipped off of Kaiba and leaned against his palms to sit up.

Hot, dull pain shot down Atem's right arm, making itself suddenly apparent. He fell over, narrowly catching himself with his good hand which, just as embarrassingly, landed atop the cool back of Kaiba's hand. He decided the intimate gesture was far less embarrassing than falling face first onto the floor.

His felt his heart throbbing in his arm. The source of his pain, he assumed, but he didn't know how it had happened. Glass maybe; a bullet, possibly. Atem shuddered.

"Why would you get in the way, IT?"

Hazy, Atem's head lulled back. "Atem."

"What?"

"My name is Atem."

Kaiba furrowed his brows and glanced down to their hands. He was thinking, Atem guessed, but he didn't say anything and set his jaw instead, watching, waiting for Atem pulled his hand away.

"Why would you get in the way, _Atem_?" Kaiba finally asked.

"Because...I don't know. The right thing to do, I guess."

"Tch."

Kaiba raised up and away, and Atem missed the warm touches of their entwined limbs. When he went to move, he swayed and fell forward. The warmth returned immediately; Kaiba caught him and eased him down, holding him upright long enough for Atem to gather his bearings. He clutched his arm tightly, palm soaked with hot, sticky blood that had seeped through the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

"No one was listening," Atem continued, ignoring the pain and hiding the blood as Kaiba drew closer. "Not even you. I figured someone had to do something for you since you were being so hardheaded."

For a split second, he thought Kaiba had bent his head to the admonishment, but Kaiba's steely eyes never strayed from Atem's. It was like the CEO looked right into Atem's soul and let him know, yes, he was angered and hurt.

Roland knelt beside them. "Master Kaiba, come. The area is compromised."

"Clearly."

"Are you hurt?" Roland asked, bracing around Kaiba as went to stand.

"I'm not. _Atem_ is," he said, contemptuous. At security, at Atem, at the situation. Not that Atem blames Kaiba one bit. This wasn't his fault. Not really. Well...

maybe a little.

"Help anyone else hurt by security's oversight. But _him_ first," Kaiba said, jutting his chin to Atem.

"Of course, sir."

Kaiba stood, casing Atem with an expression that could only be described as flustered. Moreso than 'I was just shot at' flustered, if Atem even knew what that looked like. It was more that he owed Atem something and didn't know what to say, or if he did, how to say it. He didn't play grateful very well, other than his coarse order, but that was alright.

Atem never broke eye contact with Kaiba as EMTs leaned him back to tend to his arm. Kaiba was selfish—he wanted Kaiba's selfish curiosity, his gratefulness, unspoken, showed through his unbidden attention.

"I'm okay, Kaiba," Atem said.

In response, Kaiba shifted his weight from foot to the other before nodding his head sharply at Atem. "You had better be."

Kaiba left, but not without throwing a cursory glance over his shoulder.

Atem smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> If I had more ideas for this...I would totally continue this. I just liked the idea of a hacker Atem saving Kaiba, I guess. 
> 
> Tell me what you think!


End file.
